Wellington Phoenix Co-Owner Morgan Calls For Shake-Up Of New Zealand Football

A-League Wellington Phoenix co-Owner Gareth Morgan "has called for a total overhaul of New Zealand Football," saying that it is an embarrassment and being run like a local tennis club, according to McBride & Worthington of FAIRFAX NZ NEWS. Morgan, who is part of the Welnix consortium which owns the Phoenix, said that he would put up NZ$5M ($4.1M) of his own money "to fix the sport's troubles," but only if the government "would chip in a further" NZ$10M and "turf out the current board of NZ Football." Morgan: "I suspect in New Zealand football it's a bit of an old boys' club. It's a bit like what you'd expect down at the local suburban tennis club where it's run by tennis enthusiasts who played on those courts when they were kids. That's fine, but football is far bigger than just a social activity -- it's not only a business but it has big geopolitical consequences." Morgan said that the All Whites "had been an embarrassment in their recent World Cup qualifying matches against Mexico, and were playing the wrong kind of football." He said, "The Mexicans were on the ball with what they said -- it's like the players are all failed rugby players." While Morgan said that "he had people in mind for a new board, he would not be one of them" (FAIRFAX NZ NEWS, 11/25).